Although this blog is primarily about my work in cybercrime, I thought it would be nice to let you get a peek at the life of a writer, my likes and dislikes, my trips, my family and friends, and more.

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.

Monday, October 18, 2010

WHO@ Newsletter - October 18, 2010

I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .It's actually a great idea!http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101014/od_nm/us_germany_shoesStumbling out of a nightclub and walking home barefoot with aching feet after dancing all night in killer heels could be a thing of the past for women thanks to new vending machines which sell disposable shoes. German student Isabella Fendt came up with the idea "Ballerina to go" -- ballerinas are flat shoes -- after too many nights of aching disco feet.Machines selling the shoes are already installed in four clubs in the south German city of Munich. A pair of the disposable shoes costs 7 euros ($10) and comes with a bag in which to put the high heels.

Dangerous trend: A deep rise in the ‘stalk’ market - 10/17/10http://www.dnaindia.com/india/comment_dangerous-trend-a-deep-rise-in-the-stalk-market_1453777The city is widely growing and with its huge growth, there are many a new things going on and on and have been creating a menace since their advent in this city. Obviously, these weren't new for the other metros, but as a city goes metro, some of these features always come and are actually governed or driven by frustrated people. Not going to the psychic analysis, let me talk about today's most disturbing as well as often regarded as most dangerous types of cyber crimes, cyber stalking.

Behold Facebook’s creepy step-brother, MyLife - 10/16/10http://thesheaf.com/shlog/2010/10/16/behold-facebook%E2%80%99s-creepy-step-brother-mylife/As if stalking Facebook didn’t already allow people to digitally stalk each other, there is another website that seems to have creepiness at the heart of its operations. MyLife goes by the slogan “Find everyone. All in one place.” To be fair, the majority of the site is essentially a fairly tame, rehashed version of classmates.com, which allows you to search for people by name, email, and so on.

US studying Australian Internet security program - 10/16/10http://tinyurl.com/3ym6fnjThe government is reviewing an Australian program that will allow Internet service providers to alert customers if their computers are taken over by hackers and could limit online access if people don't fix the problem. Obama administration officials have met with industry leaders and experts to find ways to increase online safety while trying to balance securing the Internet and guarding people's privacy and civil liberties.

Brett Favre to Meet With NFL Security Over Jenn Sterger Allegations - 10/16/10http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/10/16/favre-to-meet-with-nfl-security-over-sterger-allegations/Vikings quarterback Brett Favre will meet with an NFL security official here on Tuesday to discuss allegations that he made inappropriate advances and sent lewd text messages to TV host Jenn Sterger while both were employees of the New York Jets. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told NBC on Saturday that there would be a meeting but that he would not personally attend it. Sports Illustrated and NBC's Peter King reported that the meeting would be with NFL security chief Milt Aldrich.

Discovery of GPS tracker becomes privacy issue - 10/16/10http://tinyurl.com/2ul95qsYasir Afifi, a 20-year-old computer salesman and community college student, took his car in for an oil change earlier this month and his mechanic spotted an odd wire hanging from the undercarriage.The wire was attached to a strange magnetic device that puzzled Afifi and the mechanic. They freed it from the car and posted images of it online, asking for help in identifying it.

Rollover image on your website? That will be $80,000 (please) - 10/15/10http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/patent-troll-takes-over-the-web-can-it-be-stopped.ars"Dear website owner, congratulations on your excellent site, which includes features covered by our registered patent, #5,251,294. As the description indicates, many of the components on your pages, particularly your menus, rollover images, and shortcuts, are detailed in our claim. We would be delighted to lease these to you at a reasonable royalty rate of $80,000. Please call our offices at your convenience to arrange a payment schedule."

Facebook works to remove anti-gay hate speech - 10/15/10http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101015/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_facebook_gay_bullyingFacebook is working with a gay-advocacy group to reduce the amount of hate speech and bullying on the online social hub. Anti-gay bullying has been in the spotlight recently after the suicides of several gay teenagers, including Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi, garnered national attention. According to police, the 19-year-old jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate secretly recorded him with another male student and distributed video online.

Twitter cuts off celebrity-tracker JustSpotted - 10/15/10http://tinyurl.com/29b4rflTwitter on Friday said it cut celebrity-tracking service JustSpotted off from a pipeline of "tweets" that could be tapped to map the whereabouts of stars. JustSpotted will launch Tuesday with an online map that pinpoints celebrity sightings in real time using updates from sources including Twitter, Facebook, and location-based check-in service FourSquare. JustSpotted is a reincarnation of real-time search engine Scoopler, which had licensed a "fire hose" data feed of all public tweets from Twitter.

Que. man accused of online threats seeks bail - 10/14/10http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/10/14/abitbol-bail-hearing.html#ixzz12iZlO3pCQuebec crown prosecutors are fighting a bail request from a Montreal man accused of making threats on the internet and possessing child pornography. Prosecutors say David Abitbol, 28, should not be set free pending his trial because it would be a safety risk for the general population.

Passenger ordered to take down 'I Hate Ryanair' website after airline complained about 'heavily critical site' - 10/13/10http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1319844/Passenger-ordered-I-Hate-Ryanair-website-popular-money.htmlA website set up to criticise Ryanair has been shut down by an internet watchdog – because it proved so popular it earned its owner money. The founder of IHateRyanair.co.uk – whose strapline was ‘The World’s Most Hated Airline’ – was forced to surrender the web address after the budget carrier complained to the domain name dispute resolution service.

The case for cybercasing: Uploading photos to Facebook and Twitter can make you a target for crime - 10/13/10http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=170325At 10:31 a.m. Paul Hebert, a resident of Greenville, S.C., posted a photo to his Twitter account, Incentintel. The photo, uploaded to Twitpic, was geo-tagged with his exact location – near Roosevelt Road in Chicago. The website icanstalku.com posted the tweet as an example of dangerous, inadvertent oversharing of information on social networking sites that can lead to crimes like stalking and robbery.

Fake Facebook Profiles And The Rise Of Online Harassment - 10/12/10http://www.neontommy.com/news/2010/10/fake-facebook-profilesa-surprisingly-common-harassment“What did people do without Facebook?” I hear this question a lot, as my friends from back home and from school discuss the fact that most of us found our roommates and some college friends on the social networking site. It is the place where you can keep up with those living in all parts of the world and stay updated on everybody’s lives.

Woman's email threat against judge also named Emanuel - 10/12/10http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=1987218&spid=The arrest of a Gold Coast woman charged with intimidation of a public official began with an email to the White House threatening to "blow out the the brains" of nine people, including a Cook County judge and mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel.

Lotto Hoaxers in Frenzy - 10/12/10http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3175656/Lotto-hoaxers-in-113m-EuroMillions-frenzy.htmlBRITAIN'S biggest lottery win remained unclaimed last night - as hoaxers pretended they had won the £113million prize. Operator Camelot confirmed no one had yet come forward for Friday's EuroMillions jackpot. A Sunderland man yesterday sent the internet into a frenzy after posting what appeared to be the winning ticket on social networking site Facebook.

4channers Hunt Down Detroit Couple Taunting Dying Girl While Reddit Donates to the Victim's Family - 10/08/10http://www.urlesque.com/2010/10/08/4chan-hunts-down-detroit-couple-taunting-dying-girl/?a_dgi=aolshare_twitterFox Detroit reports that a 7-year old girl named Kathleen Edward became the subject of cruel taunts by her neighbors. Kathleen is dying of Huntington's Disease, a degenerative brain disorder which killed her mother at 24. Neighbors Jennifer and Scott Petkov, who are allegedly embroiled in some kind of feud with Kathleen's family, set up a Facebook page with a picture of Kathleen's mother in the arms of the grim reaper and Kathleen's face photoshopped into a skull and crossbones. Why?

About Me

I'm a cyber crime expert and author of 8 books, soon to be 9! Although writing is my passion, cyber crime pays the bills. I give online safety lectures worldwide to students from 4th grade on up through college/university, as well as providing law enforcement training and speaking at various conferences as keynote.